Download Agostini_T000213 1 Programmatic Approach to Land Degradation

Agostini_T000213
Programmatic Approach to Land Degradation in Burundi
Burundi is a small, landlocked country. Its economy is dominated by subsistence agriculture, which
employs 90 percent of the population, though cultivable land is extremely scarce. The country is endowed
with valuable natural assets. In particular, abundant rainfall, a dense river network, fertile arable land,
productive marshlands, and freshwater lakes generate a range of ecosystem services, as well as directly
supporting the lives and livelihoods of the population.
Over the past decades, Burundi’s economic growth has relied on steady depletion of its natural capital
and, as a result, the country’s natural environment has substantially degraded. The main driver of the
environmental degradation has been the rapid population growth. In particular, in order to feed the
growing population, substantial areas of forest have been cleared for agriculture, and poor agricultural
practices have harmed soil fertility and integrity. Water resources have also been degraded, affecting
several sectors and public health, while the population has also been exposed to severe indoor air
pollution due to biofuel burning. In some cases, climate change is amplifying these consequences, in
particular the frequency and severity of natural disasters. Without proper institutional arrangements in
place, the environment has not been safeguarded from the expansive forces. Furthermore, conflicts that
plagued the country on and off over the decades have prevented effective implementation of
environmental and natural resource management policies.
Landscape degradation directly affects 1.5 billion people, including 42% of the world’s very poor and
32% of the moderately poor. 52% of the land used for agriculture is moderately or severely affected by
soil degradation. Besides, about 30% of global forest cover has been completely cleared and a further 20
percent has been degraded compared to the last several centuries. It is also noteworthy that the South is
much more impacted by net forest loss than the North. Breaking this spiral of loss and degradation and
restoring these lands would therefore bring many benefits. Restored landscapes benefit livelihoods and
biodiversity by reducing erosion, supplying clean water, providing wildlife habitat, biofuel, and other
forest products. Forests and trees also help mitigate climate change and enhance soil fertility, conserve
soil moisture, and boost food production
Land degradation is the most serious environmental problem faced by Burundi today. Over one-third of
Burundi’s land is considered very highly or highly degraded. Agriculture is practiced on the slopes of
hills and mountains across the country, and this, coupled with deforestation, has caused extensive land
degradation and soil erosion. Soil erosion has compromised ecosystem integrity, eroded riverbanks, and
led to nutrient loading of water bodies. It has also led to reduced soil fertility in the hilly and mountainous
areas, resulting in lowered agricultural yields. The impact of reduced productivity of arable land through
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the constant loss of topsoil and nutrients is already evident at all levels in Burundi. Overall, the country is
estimated to be losing 150-200 t/year/ha million tons of soil per year. Most of the soil lost through erosion
ends up in the stream network and marshlands. This is evident in the siltation of the various rivers and
associated wetlands. Soil erosion is also the principal contributor to the flash floods and landslides that
occurred in 2014 and 2015 causing loss of lives and damage to infrastructure. The annual cost of
environmental degradation in Burundi (due to deforestation, land degradation, water pollution, air
pollution, and natural disasters.) is estimated by the CEA at about US$ 376 Million or 12.1 percent of the
country’s 2014 GDP. For the land degradation portion, the calculation was based on soil erosion that is
associated with economic losses at a midpoint of US$ 120 Mn or 3.9% of GDP in 2014. This is a
conservative estimate obtained using productivity reduction for three major crops in Burundi. In
comparison with other countries where the World Bank has conducted similar studies, Burundi ranks first
in terms of environmental degradation.
While highly exposed to environment degradation and extreme weather events and climate shocks,
Burundi has extremely low capacity to respond. Based on data from the past 60 years, Burundi has
experienced alternating cycles of excess and deficit rainfall nearly every decade, as well as overall
increased mean temperature, with the dry season is getting longer. These shocks have in turn increased
the vulnerability of the landscapes. For instance, since September 2015, Burundi has been severely
affected by the El Niño climate phenomenon, resulting in a heavier and longer rainy season, and
dangerous floods in Burundi’s most vulnerable zones. Burundi ranks 174 out of 180 countries in the
Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index that summarizes a country's vulnerability to climate change and
other global challenges in combination with its readiness to improve resilience. Burundi is the 4th most
vulnerable country and the 20th least ready country.
It has become clear that Burundi needs to halt the unsustainable expansion path based on the depletion of
natural capital and find a new and sustainable development trajectory. Consequently, it was determined
that the Government of Burundi (GoB) would benefit from a Country Environmental Analysis (CEA).
Together with the Government of Burundi, the World Bank has undertaken this Country Environmental
Analysis (CEA) as a first step in support of the country to transition toward inclusive and sustainable
development. Furthermore, in order to reverse land degradation and deforestation, the World Bank is coleading a series of projects: (i) The landscape restoration project, (ii) The Sustainable Land Management
of Coffee Areas (PAZDOC) Project; and (iii) The Coffee Sector Competitiveness Project.
Beyond the three Country based projects mentioned, Burundi is also part of multiple regional projects. In
the regional context Burundi has access to knowledge resources developed in neighboring countries as
well as the ability to build networks beyond country borders. A key example, the ongoing Lake Victoria
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Environmental Management Project II (LVEMP – which aims to improve the health of the Lake Victoria
basin), the Regional Great Lakes Integrated Agriculture Development Project.
This report begins by discussing the fundamental context and conditions of environmental problems that
must be taken into consideration when addressing specific environmental problems. Then the report
describes the main forms of environmental degradation observed in Burundi. An attempt to measure the
extent of degradation in monetary terms has been made to demonstrate the economic cost of
environmental degradation. The report finds geographical overlap of concentration of poverty and
degraded environment. Climate change will only exacerbate the situation, leaving the poor population
more vulnerable to shocks.
The report then offers sets of recommendations relative to the diagnosis made in the first part of the
paper. As overall recommendations, the CEA stresses the importance of a holistic approach at landscape
level to address the problems and build resilience of the environment and the communities. Favoring
practical and simpler options, the report presents recommended actions to address deforestation, land
degradation, indoor air pollution, water pollution, and natural disaster management in the face of global
climate change. These actionable policies may be implemented through a combination of state-led
initiatives and community-based, bottom-up framework. These recommendations also serve the country’s
preparation for implementation of Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) toward climate change
mitigation and adaptation.
In parallel to the conception of a CEA for Burundi, multiple complementary projects at various stages of
implementation are underway in the country. This complementary suite of projects is already responding
to cross-cutting issues raised in the CEA. This Landscape approach was designed with the aim of
addressing the multi-sectoral issues uncovered in the analysis of Burundi. To date there are at least four
mutually reinforcing ranging in a variety of interventions. True to the desired holistic approach, these
projects are share both resources and information to increase their efficiency and effectiveness.
Starting with one of the most recent projects in preparation, a US$50 million IDA project in
preparation, the Burundi Sustainable Landscape Management, activities will complement and build
on other related World Bank Group (WBG) analytical work in the country especially those
involving natural resource management, conservation, and promotion of the agriculture sector,
including the Poverty Assessment and the Country Environmental Analysis (CEA) . The newest
project will also complement existent operations such as: the ongoing Lake Victoria Environmental
Management Project II (LVEMP – which aims to improve the health of the Lake Victoria basin),
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the Agricultural Productivity and Access to Markets (PRODEMA – which promotes increased
productivity and commercialization of rice, coffee, milk and banana commodities).
To further address the country wide issues of productivity, the Sustainable Coffee Landscape
Project (PADZ the Coffee Sector Competitiveness Project aims to increase both the productivity
and quality of Burundi coffee. The final piece of the holistic approach is the Program for Integrated
Agriculture Growth in the Great Lakes (US$ 75 million) currently also at Preparation stage, which
aims to increase production and marketing of selected agriculture commodities for the benefit of
local communities located in the Rusizi plain and along the shores of Lake Tanganyika. The
proposed project will also draw from studies and lessons learned by the WB Social Safety Net
public work Program to inform its “cash for work” mechanism.
Both commonalities among and distinctions between these projects are worth examining. Later
projects learn from their predecessors. As a result, successful interventions are replicated and scaled
up while continuous improvements can be made to work out design flaws. It should be understood
that each distinct variety of land (soil, slope, humidity, population density, etc) addressed within
Burundi requires special attention. The unique and varied topography (and biophysical
characteristics) of the country lends itself to a myriad of activity types each aimed at achieving
sustainable growth. Though the land is not homogenous in nature, there are commonalities that
create efficiencies across the program.
In addition to leveraging country systems already in place, these projects will all coordinate efforts
with multiple donors working in the country, including FAO, IFAD, GEF and GIZ, among others.
OC – which promotes environmentally friendly technologies for sustainable coffee production. True
to the spirit of a programmatic approach this suite of projects aims to reinforce efforts to curb land
degradation in Burundi by addressing multiple drivers of deforestation alongside strengthening
efforts to support sustainable improvements in land management that would ideally lead to
improved growth in the country while engaging multiple practice leaders (Environment and Natural
Resources, Agriculture, Social Development, etc) within the implementing institution.
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